The book: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
What is this book about: Ignatius J. Reilly is a fat man who lives with his mother at the age of 30 and spends most of his time railing against the indignities of the modern world. He’s nearly arrested in front of a department store. Then he and his mother go to a bar, and the mother gets drunk and crashes the car. Ignatius is forced to go to work to pay off the debt, a tale that involves the interweaving of all of the characters from those first two scenes.
Why did I read this book: It’s been staring at me from the shelves for awhile. Also, remember when it was going to be a movie with Will Ferrell? You know how I am about reading books before they become movies.
What did I think of this book: I thought it was a great book, with all the interweaving and comic escapades and whatnot. The New Republic told me via back-of-the-book blurb that I would “laugh out loud till your belly aches and your eyes water,” which did not come true. I think I chuckled twice, but maybe I just don’t laugh out loud at books.
What was my favorite part of this book: It would be too hard to pick out just one of the madcap adventures or pieces of writing in this book. So please don’t hold it against this book that my favorite part was reading the Wikipedia entry on this book after I was finished and discovering that Mischa Barton, Slash and Augusten Burroughs all claim its their favorite book. I mean, what weird company, right? I’d like to see a book about their interweaving adventures.
What did I learn from this book: I wouldn’t say you “learn” anything from the book per se, although you do get a sense of what New Orleans was like in the 1960s. I guess you learn a little bit about Christian philosopher Boethius. Most of the juicy stuff I learned was about the “curse” surrounding the book by reading this Slate article: http://www.slate.com/id/2155500/.
What grade do I give this book: A-
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